This invention relates to the use of compact discs (CDs) and digital video discs (DVDs, sometimes referred to as digital versatile discs) in the fields of advertising, mass distribution, and toys, specifically in making their use safer for consumers and more profitable for advertisers.
A number of patents refer to the use of a foam or other plastic ring designed to fit around the perimeter of a flying disc, most with the purpose of giving the disc aerodynamic characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,403 refers to a foam ring designed to fit around a disposable paper or plastic dinner plate. The shape of the plate itself creates the airfoil, and varies, aerodynamically, based on the shape of the particular plate used and the manner by which it is inserted. The foam ring serves as a protective surface. It is not an integral component of the airfoil.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,129 refers to a flying disc wherein a circular, clear insert is permanently attached across the center aperture of the annular disc, using a series of corresponding holes and pegs attached in a fusing process. This disc is constructed using a rigid plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,441 refers to an aerodynamic disc wherein a weighted insert is attached to the inside perimeter of a plastic ring via threading on both pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,843 refers to a two-piece disc, bonded together, with a solid, flat center.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,986 refers to an aerodynamic unit with air-activated whistle elements positioned around the periphery.
The above are patents that refer to a foam, PVC, or other plastic ring encircling a disc such as a paper plate, or flat plastic circle. However, none of the references shows a ring shaped to fit annularly on the edge of a CD or DVD. In addition, none is shaped to create an airfoil in conjunction with the flat surface of a CD or DVD. U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,403 shows possible aerodynamic characteristics, but the airfoil is created by the paper plate and not dependent on the ring itself. Moreover, none shows the use of an integral hinge system to lessen contact force upon impact, and none shows the use of a locking groove within a gripping mouth to prevent slippage of the CD or DVD upon impact. In addition, none of the above-mentioned references shows the use of a combination of different plastics as part of the annular rim, a soft porous plastic for safety and a more rigid plastic for stability.
Compact discs (CDs) are commonly used for mass distribution advertising, marketing products, product catalogs, software distribution, recorded music, data storage, hard drive storage, and digital graphic cataloging and storage. They also have a growing and unlimited number of other uses. Digital video discs (DVDs) are becoming the preferred medium for distribution of movies, both for sale to consumers and rentals. Mini-CDs, a smaller version of the CD, are used in the music industry for single recordings, as business cards, and in a growing number of other uses. Because CDs and DVDs are inexpensive and easy to distribute, hundreds of millions have been produced and distributed, and the number is steadily increasing. CDs and DVDs have also become the preferred method for data storage for businesses and other institutions of all sizes.
The development of CD-DVD Read/Write drives, commonly known as CD burners, has enabled consumers to use CDs and DVDs to store computer files, copy their own music recordings, copy movies, and for, potentially, a myriad of other uses. Millions of blank CDs are already being manufactured and sold for storage and duplication.
Many companies such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) send millions of CDs to consumers through the mail. The CDs contain all the tools and software necessary to subscribe to that particular ISP. Other companies, such as software mail order companies, send their catalogs out to consumers in the form of CDs. These mass mailings have become increasingly more common, to the point that consumers often consider them to be in the same category as junk mail and rapidly discard them. This is highly undesirable for three reasons:                a) Unusable, discarded or obsolete CD or DVD discs are at present a non-degradable waste product.        b) Marketing and advertising dollars are essentially wasted. CDs are in the hands of consumers and in use only a small amount of time, if at all, and are then discarded or tossed onto a shelf and forgotten.        c) Children and adults pick up discarded CDs and use them as toys because of their “flying saucer” shape. They are thrown through the air, often in destructive and injurious ways. The problem of injuries is due to the hard, sharp edges on the perimeter of the CD or DVD. That sharp edge is the first contact surface to hit a person or an object, and quite often hits with substantial impact.        
Some people, who are actively aware of the need for recycling, reuse CDs by recording over the original material. This is not possible in many instances, and moreover, new blank CDs have become so inexpensive that most people simply use new ones rather than go to the trouble of re-recording.
Large sporting events and concerts are seen by advertisers as having great potential for mass distribution of advertising CDs. They are reluctant, though, because large, sometimes boisterous crowds may begin throwing the CDs around like flying saucers because they fly fairly well. The edges of CDs are hard and sharp, which could cause serious injuries.
The same is true at the home level. The round, flat shape of CDs gives them a degree of lift, creates a rudimentary airfoil, and makes them conducive to flight. Because of that capability, it is natural to pick them up and throw them through the air. They are commonly tossed and flown by both children and adults. They fly easily, and can be tossed fairly accurately at targets. But the issues of serious injury and of damage to furniture, walls, and anything else in their paths, still remain a substantial problem for the following reasons:                a) CD and DVD discs, in their present form, must travel through the air at high speeds in order to stay aloft.        b) By design, there is nothing to keep the CD or DVD disc traveling horizontally through the air. They twist and turn and slam hard into whatever they hit, creating high contact forces due to a very small and sharp contact area on the outer edge of the disc.        